Recap: Canes Lack 'Spark' In Loss To Leafs

RALEIGH, N.C. - A slow start snowballed into a lopsided loss for the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, as they fell 5-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Lenovo Center.

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The Canes found themselves facing an uphill battle just 53 seconds into the contest, as Toronto's Bobby McMann rattled the game's first shot off the post and in. An odd carom off the end boards then made matters worse, as a dump-in skipped out to the front of the net for a tap-in and a 2-0 Leafs lead.

Despite the score, Carolina controlled the lion's share of possession in the opening frame, and finally got rewarded at 15:45 when Seth Jarvis finished off a slick cross-crease feed from Shayne Gostisbehere to halve the deficit. But that momentum was flattened in the second period when two more Toronto tallies widened the gap to three goals at the 40-minute mark.

Unable to repeat the comeback magic from the clubs' last meeting a month ago, Carolina failed to further dent Toronto's goaltending in the third period, despite Dennis Hildeby being pressed into service in relief of an injured Joseph Woll for the final 20 minutes. A late empty-netter capped off the Leafs' win and denied the Canes a third straight victory.

Frederik Andersen recorded 19 saves on 23 shots, but fell to 0-4-2 in his last six starts.

Stats & Standouts

• Forward Seth Jarvis netted his team-leading 16th goal of the season, notching his sixth tally in his last six games and moving into a tie for the ninth-most in the league at the time of publishing.
• Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continued his splendid start to the season with his 16th assist of the season, tying Sebastian Aho for the most on the team. Among defensemen, only Cale Makar (1.22) boasts a higher points-per-game rate than Gostisbehere (1.12).
• Forward Sebastian Aho also bagged a helper - his sixth in his last five outings - to push his team-leading point total to 25 (8G, 17A) in 26 games this season.
• Forward Nikolaj Ehlers skated in his 700th career game on Thursday, becoming the eighth player from the 2014 NHL Draft class to reach that milestone.

They Said It...

Jordan Staal following the loss...

"I don't think we played bad, but I don't think we played great. We made a couple of mistakes, and it was in the back of our net. The one off the stanchion hurt. A couple of other ones just really didn't go our way. I think we had opportunities to get life - our power play could have gotten us going a little bit. I think there were a few other opportunities to get some momentum in this building, which we love to play in, but just really didn't. There was no spark tonight."

Rod Brind'Amour on the team not having a spark tonight...

"When you start right away, and you're down, it's tough. You're ready to go, and then the first one goes in, and then there's a weird bounce. It was an uphill battle right from the start."

Rod Brind'Amour discussing Frederik Andersen's night and the bigger picture of the game...

"It's tough because you don't really fault him on the goals. There was only a handful of really good, quality chances; they were just able to capitalize. That's what they do. That's a great team offensively. The second one was just a tough one, and now we're down two. They did a really nice job of just hunkering up, and they didn't have to open it up. Then we kind of tried to (open it up), and they capitalized... I don't blame Freddie for the goals. Their guy(s) had a good game... I think the game came down to (the fact that) we didn't capitalize on our chances. That's the difference, really."

Frederik Andersen elaborating on his difficult stretch...

"The way I look at it, I've played better hockey, and I've had worse numbers. It doesn't look good, obviously. We're not getting the wins with me in the net lately, but I still feel like I've got my game. Maybe not perfectly where I want it, but like I've said, I've had worse stretches where things have looked better and I've gotten more wins. That's how I look at it. I try to be positive and move on."

What's Next After This Game?

• The Canes are scheduled to practice on Friday before kicking off a back-to-back at Lenovo Center with a matchup against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
• Next Game: Saturday, Dec. 6 vs. Nashville | 7:00 p.m. ET | Tickets | Parking